Lateral stresses in soils

and retaining walls

Types of earth retaining structure
- Gravity retaining walls
- Embedded retaining walls

Limit lateral earth pressure

Calculation of lateral earth thrust
Potential failure mechanisms for a
gravity retaining wall
Prof. Ing. Guido Gottardi

Types of earth retaining

structure
1) Gravity or mass retaining walls

Types of earth retaining

structure
2) L- and T- cantilever walls
- L- cantilever

- T- cantilever

- Example of T- cantilever wall with piled foundation

Types of earth retaining

structure
3) Embedded retaining walls
3.1 made of steel sheet piles
3.2 constructed in situ using reinforced concrete:
Plan view of:
- contiguous piles

-secant piles

-diaphram wall panels or barrettes

Limit lateral earth pressure

Simplified soil models
Linear

elastic

model
- Settlements
- Vertical stresses

Elastic

perfectly
plastic model
- Failure loads
- Horizontal stresses

y
p

Limit lateral earth pressure

Lateral stresses
in soils

depend upon the

material

Limit lateral earth pressure

The possible stresses in a soil are limited by the
Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion.
Active and passive earth pressure

a' = K a vo' 2c' K a

K a = tg 2 (45 / 2)

= K p + 2c' K p

K p = tg 2 (45 + / 2)

'
p

'
vo

Limit lateral earth pressure

Lateral pressure coefficient K

Lateral earth thrust

Classical theories:
Rankine (1857)
ASSUMPTIONS
- No adhesion or friction between the wall and soil;
- Vertical wall;
- Failure occurs at plastic limit within a sliding wedge,
defined by ;
- Lateral pressure varies linearly with depth and the
resultant thrust is located typically one third of the height
above the base of the wall;
- The resultant force is parallel to the backfill surface;

Coulomb (1776)
ASSUMPTIONS
- soil fails along straight slip planes

The general cases for calculating the earth pressure

coefficients can also be found in published
expressions, tables and charts.

Lateral earth thrust

Rankine
Active earth pressure

sv0
sh

v0

Lateral earth thrust

Rankine
Horizontal stress in case of active earth pressure
sh

sh

Lateral earth thrust

Rankine
Passive earth pressure

sv0
sh

v0

v0

h
h

Lateral earth thrust

Rankine
Horizontal stress in case of passive earth pressure

sh

Lateral earth thrust

Coulomb
Long before the analysis of Rankine, the French
scientist Coulomb presented a theory on
limiting states of stress in soils (in 1776), which
is still of great value. The theory enables to
determine the forces on a retaining structure for
the cases of active and passive earth pressure.
The method is based upon the assumption that
the soil fails along straight slip planes
Active earth pressure

Lateral earth thrust

Coulomb
Passive earth pressure

The purpose of the analysis is to determine the

magnitude of the force P (for reasons of simplicity
in the previouse figures it is assumed that the force
P between the soil and the wall is directed normal to
the surface of the wall, i.e. shear stresses along the
wall are initially neglected). The principle of
Coulombs method is that it is stated that the wall
must be capable of withstanding the force P for all
possible slip planes. Therefore the slip plane that
leads to the largest value of P is to be determined.

Lateral earth thrust

Coulomb
The general problem is a retaining wall, having a
surface inclined at an angle with the horizontal
direction. The soil surface may be sloping at an
angle with the horizontal direction. The wall may
have a certain friction, so that the direction of the
force P is at an angle with the direction normal to
the wall. The friction angle is often taken
somewhat smaller than the friction angle of the soil
itself, say = 2/3.

Potential failure mechanisms

for a gravity retaining wall
W: wall weight
Qf: bearing capacity
PA: active thrust
W

Rs: frictional resistance

PA

PP: passive thrust

PP
RS

Qf

Sliding: can horizontal equilibrium be maintained?

Toppling: takes moments around the toe
Bearing failure: use the conditions of vertical and
rotational equilibrium to calculate the limit pressure
on the foundation base

Sliding
Forces causing sliding = horizontal
component of active force (PA)
Forces available to resist sliding are
(i) base friction
(ii) horizontal components of passive side
forces acting on the wall (if reliable)

(W + PAv ) tg + ca B PAh
FS 1,3

W PAv PA
PAh

Toppling
Overturning moment due to the horizontal
component of active force
Available resisting moment is due to the weight of
the wall and to the vertical component of active
force
Equilibrium of external forces, i.e. no geotechnical
parameters

W a + PAv b PAh h
FS 1,5

Pavb+Wa

W PAv PA

Pahh

PAh
h
a

Base bearing pressures

Wall must be in equilibrium to calculate
base bearing pressures
Neither the sliding analysis nor the toppling
analysis considered a wall in equilibrium
These values must be checked against the
bearing capacity of the soil
It is required to take in due consideration a
load resultant inclined and eccentric

RS

Qf

PA